Universal Responsibility and the Environment

As a boy studying Buddhism, I was taught the
importance of a caring attitude toward the environment. Our practice of
nonviolence applies not just to human beings but to all sentient beings
- any living thing that has a mind. Where there is a mind, there are
feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No sentient being wants pain:
all wants happiness instead. I believe that all sentient beings share
those feelings at some basic level.

In Buddhism practice we get so used to this idea of non-violence and
the ending of all suffering that we become accustomed to not harming or
destroying anything indiscriminately. Although we do not believe that
trees or flowers have minds, we treat them also with respect. Thus we
share a sense of universal responsibility for both mankind and nature.
Our belief in reincarnation is one example of our concern for the
future. If you think that you will be reborn, you are likely to say to
yourself, I have to preserve such and such because my future
reincarnation will be able to continue with these things. Even though
there is a chance you may be reborn as a creature, perhaps even on a
different planet, the idea of reincarnation gives you reason to have
direct concern about this planet and future generations.
In the West when you speak of "humanity," you
usually mean only our existing generation of human beings. Past
humanity is already gone. The future, like death, has yet to come.
Western ideas usually deal with the practical side of things for only
this present generation of human beings.

Tibetan feelings about the environment are based entirely on religion.
They are derived from the whole Tibetan way of life, not just from
Buddhism. For example, consider Buddhism in Japan or Thailand, in
environments different from ours. Their culture and their attitude are
not the same as ours. Our unique environment has strongly influenced
us. We don't live on a small, heavily populated island. Historically,
we have had little anxiety with our vast area, low population, and
distant neighbors. We haven't felt as oppressed as people in many other
human communities.

It is very possible to practice the essence of a faith or culture
without practicing a religion. Our Tibetan culture, although culture,
although highly influenced by Buddhism, did not gain all its philosophy
from Buddhism. I once suggested to an organization dealing with Tibetan
refugees that it would be interesting to do some research on how much
our people have been affected by their approach to life itself in
Tibet. What are the factors that make Tibetans generally happy al1d
calm? People are always looking for answer in our unique religion,
forgetting that our environment is just as unusual.

Concern for the environment is not necessarily holy, nor does it always
require compassion. We Buddhists express compassion for all sentient
beings, but this compassion is not necessarily extended to every rock
or tree or house. Most of us are somewhat concerned about our own
house, but not really compassionate about it. We keep it in order so
that we can live and be happy. We know that to have happy feelings in
our house we must take care of it. So our feelings may be of concern
rather than compassion.

Similarly, our planet is our house, and we must keep it in order and
take care of it if we are genuinely concerned about happiness for
ourselves, our children, our friends, and other sentient beings who
share this great house with us. If we think of the planet as our house
or' as "our mother - Mother Earth - we automatically feel concern for
our environment. Today we understand that the future of humanity very
much depends on our planet, and that the future of the planet very much
depends on humanity. But this has not always been so clear to us. Until
now, you see, Mother Earth has somehow tolerated sloppy house habits.
But now human use, population, and technology have reached that certain
stage 'where Mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence.
In many ways she is now telling us, "My children are behaving badly,"
she is warning us that there are limits to our actions.
The Tibetan Buddhist attitude is one of contentment, and there may be
some connection here with our attitude toward the environment. We don't
indiscriminately consume. We put a limit on our consumption. We admire
simply living and individual responsibility. We have always considered
ourselves as part of our environment, but not just any part. Our
ancient scriptures speak of the container and the contained. The world
is the container - our house and we are the contained- the
contents of the container.

From these simple facts we deduce a special
relationship, because without the container, the contents cannot be
contained. Without the contents, the container contains nothing, it's
meaningless.

In my Five-Point Peace Plan I have proposed that all of Tibet become a
sanctuary, a zone of peace. Tibet was that once, but with no official
designation. Peace means harmony: harmony between people, between
people and animals, between sentient beings and the environment.
Visitors from all over the world could come to Tibet to experience
peace and harmony. Instead of building big hotels with many stories and
many rooms, we would make small building, more like private homes, that
would be in better harmony with nature.

It is not at all wrong for humans to use nature to make useful things,
but we must not exploit nature to make useful things, but we must not
exploit nature unnecessarily. It is good to live in a house, to have
medicines, and to be able to drive somewhere in a car. In the right
hands, a machine is not a luxury, but something very useful. A camera,
for example, can be used to make pictures that pronote understanding.
Bur everything has its limit. Too much consumption or effort to make
money is no good. Neither is too much contentment. In principle
contentment is a goal, but pure contentment becomes almost like
suicide, doesn't it? I think the Tibetans had, in certain fields too
much contentment. And we lost our country. These days we cannot afford
too much contentment about the environment.

Peace and survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by
human activities that lack a commitment to humanitarian values.
Destruction of nature and natural resources results from ignorance,
greed, and lack of respect for the earth's living things. This lack of
respect extends even to the earth's human descendants, the future
generations who will inherit a vastly degraded planet if world peace
doesn't become a reality and if destruction of the natural environment
continues at the present rate.

Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many
people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which
we now know is the case only if we care for it. It is not difficult to
forgive destruction in the past that resulted from ignorance. Today,
however, we have access to more information. It is essential that we
re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible
for, and what we will pass on to coming generations.

Clearly this is a pivotal generation. Global
communication i; possible, yet confrontations take place more often
than meaningful dialogues for peace. Our marvels of science and
technology are matched, if not outweighed, by many current tragedies,
including human starvation in some parts of the world and extinction of
other life forms. Exploration of outer space takes place at the same
time the earth's own oceans, seas, and freshwater areas grow
increasingly polluted, and their life forms are still largely unknown
or misunderstood. Many of the earth's habitats, animals, plants,
insects and even microorganisms that we know as rare my not be known at
all by future generations. We have the capability and the
responsibility. We must act before it is too late.